More valuable than property…

Ben Zachariah, from Harris & Silverman, talks about the increasing value of classic cars that is outstripping property four-to-one.

Classic Cars more valuable than property

Ross Greenwood: You shouldn’t buy the property you should buy the cars instead. What I’m talking about is collectible cars. And the whole point about this is that it’s suggested now that over the past ten years that while property prices might have risen 100 percent let’s say the car prices, the collectible cars have risen 400 percent. But it’s not just in the last decade this has happened it was in the decade before. Now the man who is the editor in chief at Harris & Silverman, Ben Zaccaro is on the line right now. Let’s get Ben on. Good day Ben. How’re you traveling?

Interview with Ben Zachariah, Harris & Silverman

Ben Zaccaro: Hi Ross how’re you doing?

Ross Greenwood: So is this true or not?

Ben Zaccaro: Yeah. It was earlier this year we saw the average’s around 457 percent. There’s been a slight pull back then coming back around 404 but then yeah we’re still seeing really strong numbers coming from collectible cars.

Ross Greenwood: Okay so collectible cars I kind of get that they do try to change hands and all that sort of stuff but surely there must be a point at which that car is really really good, that car not so good. I mean you got to know what your buying like any collectible.

Ben Zaccaro: Yeah definitely. I mean like as you said like any collectible you have to study the market and see what the market trends are doing. But there are always solid ways to go if you go with any classic Ferrari and classic Porsche, things like that they’re always going to be strong at the end of the market for those type of things. But what we’re actually seeing is from the classics, the cars from the ’80s and ’90s are actually really starting to come through. That’s basically because Gen X’s are starting to get a little bit more disposable income, and they’ understand to buy out the cars, the hero cars from their childhood. So, in the posters that they had on their bedroom walls as a kid, they’re now buying those cars. So we’re seeing prices go through the roof especially in the European market, and Australia is starting to follow suit now.

Ross Greenwood: Okay so if you were sitting out there and I was to walking into you and saying “Benotto. What would be the types of cars I would try and identify. I mean some of the cars that are worth massive amounts of money, we’re talking tens of millions of dollars include a Jaguar D-top 1955, the Bugatti Royale Kiner, Coup which is 1932, 20 million dollars, but that’s way out of everybody’s league. If you come back and say “Rotto let’s try and get a car somewhere between right now 50-100 thousand dollars”, it might be worth a whole bunch more in ten years time, what sort of cars should people be aiming for?

Ben Zaccaro: Well I mean the thing with cars is most people so there are cars that they like and that they have an interest in. So that’s the best place to start. Some people have an interest in Australian muscle cars which are I think a really good value, you might have an interest in German cars. I mean you can start investing in cars from five to ten thousand dollars. We believe that there are really good Japanese cars that are around that price range that are really going to see decent strong gains in the future.

Ross Greenwood: Really? What sort of cars will that be? What type of cars?

Ben Zaccaro: So if you look at the Japanese performance cars in the ’90’s, things like you know that we sold back in the early ’90s to the moon. But you look at the other models, things like 180 SXs and things like that really the easiest cars which were modified heavily in the past. So there aren’t really many good ones around. But we’re going to see those really take off in the future, just like we’re seeing Japanese cars from the ’70s really take off, so you know, there are opportunities pretty much any price point.

Ross Greenwood: I’ll tell you what, it’s just amazing to think these so. You know this work has been done and it’s good work it’s no doubt, but to consider that the collectible cars might in fact get better investment performance than realistate around Australia really does sort of knock my socks off. Ben Zaccaro is the editor and chief at Harris and Silverman. He’s been watching all of that, giving you a few tips as to what cars might be worthwhile. Maybe some of you might have done exactly the same thing. Give us a call on 131-873. And Ben we appreciate your time here on the program tonight.

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About The Author

Ross Greenwood is the Nine Network’s business and finance editor, and hosts Sydney's top-rating radio program, Money News, for 2GB, 4BC. 3AW and all networked stations across the Macquarie Media group.
He appears daily on the Today Show - notably for his Money Minute - and Nine News.